Teasers for A Small Light in the Dark
by dickard23
Summary: Sorry to change the summary, but I decided to make this a series of teasers for my upcoming azutara fic A Small Light in the Dark. Each chapter will be a self-contained story that takes place before the fic begins to bridge the end of the ATLA series to the beginning of the story. If people like these, then I'll consider doing outtakes from the series once it's up and running.
1. She Likes the Puppy

This oneshot is a teaser for an (eventual) azutara story, A Small Light in the Dark.

**May 101AG**

It had been 9 months since Azula had been put in the asylum and there had been no progress with her at all. She stopped screaming and throwing fire, but that was likely due to exhaustion rather than a healthier state of mind.

Six doctors had come and gone, but none of them could offer any solution. The last one said, "Dr. Sing in Ba Sing Se, they say he's a prodigy."

Zuko wrote to him, desperately begging him to come help his sister.

The doctor usually didn't make house calls, but he was a young doctor trying to establish his practice. A good word from the Fire Lord could make all the difference. He could not afford to reject this plea.

"I will need her medical records and her personal history as well as you know it. I need to find someone to run my clinic in my absence, so I will not be able to leave for a few weeks."

Zuko sent the papers he had amassed over the past 9 months and the Head Sage helped him write a personal account of his sister. He wasn't there for three years of her life, so he needed help with that. Mai added what she knew, and they sent it all to Ba Sing Se.

**June 101AG**

After reviewing the papers and finding a doctor to run his clinic in his absence, Dr. Sing took a sky ship, paid for by the Fire Lord, to the palace. He had never flown in one before. He had spent the money he had opening his clinic and did not have any spare coins for such luxuries, not that he had time to leave the capital city anyway. A lot of people needed his help from Joo Dees to war veterans, and he strived to help anyone he could. Illnesses of the mind were often the cruelest. He had seen many a people decline in horrifying ways during his time in medical school. He hoped he could provide some solutions.

Once they docked in Capital City, he was quickly ushered into a carriage and taken to the Palace right away. If he was having any second doubts, it was too late as there was a royal guard on his left and his right. He felt like he was in some type of protective custody. It was unsettling.

After about 30 minutes, they arrived at the palace. It was large, not as large as King Kuei's, but it was more intimidating given all of the black.

He was lead up the stairs and promptly directed to the Fire Lord's office. All he had with him was a basket and a messenger bag. He would have anything else he needed sent to him.

"Dr. Sing, thank you for coming." Zuko was a tall man. He was still filling out, but he was already broader and more intimidating looking than he had been during the war. Dr. Sing had been warned not to stare at the scar. He wondered what type of psychological issues the Fire Lord had, but that was only out of curiosity. It was not why he was here.

"I do what I can." Before he could explain what his plan of attack was, Lady Mai appeared.

She studied him. He was shorter than the other doctors. He kept his hair short, mainly, so he didn't have to spend a lot of time maintaining it. He was young. "How old are you?" was the first question out of her mouth.

"I am 20." He had just graduated medical school two years before. He started at 15, which was young. Many had more life experience first, but he knew he wanted to be a doctor and went as soon as he saved up the money. It took him two years. His required schooling ended at 13.

"Well, he got a country to run at 17, so I shouldn't be that suspicious." She was anyway.

"I reviewed your sister's medical records. Unfortunately, she was only tested once. The subsequent doctors did not evaluate her again; they just assumed the first doctor was correct. Often times, he is not." She had been diagnosed as a sociopath with psychosis.

"You don't think her diagnosis was correct?" Mai questioned.

"She didn't respond to any of the accepted treatments for those conditions. It's possible that she is an unusually difficult case. It's probable, however, that they were treating her for the wrong condition. I plan on testing her myself, today."

"You want to see her TODAY?" Zuko was stunned. He hadn't send word to the asylum. He assumed Dr. Sing would want to get settled in first.

"You did say you wanted her to get better, and time is of the essence, so I will start today."

* * *

They quickly arranged for a carriage to go to the asylum. It was not that far from Capital City. Only the wealthy could afford to have their family members committed. The poor mentally ill often ended up in jail or on the streets.

Mai wondered what was in the basket.

"From what I understand, your sister was always a tomboy. She favored stories of battle to stories about romance and she'd rather firebend and fight than play with little dolls."

Zuko nodded.

"Her mother, of course, was not amused as most society mothers would not be. Her father, however, embraced her atypical nature when most would have steered her away from such conduct."

"And?"

"And, it makes sense that she gravitated towards her father not because she was a sociopath who didn't care about others suffering but because she wanted to be accepted, and her father's conditional praise seemed better than none at all.

Her vicious behavior must have been taught. She didn't learn it on her own. According to the sage, Ozai's training regiment was very strict; most would call it cruelty and she became cruel because she knew how Ozai treated failure. She may have seemed fearless, but I think she was more afraid of Ozai than anyone else was. I find it more likely that she suffers from severe PTSD and that is the cause of her troubling behavior."

"PTS what?" Mai questioned.

"Post traumatic stress disorder. It has become quite prevalent in people who have suffered war-related trauma. Men who watched their comrades die a vicious death or Women whose homes were burned down by the enemy. I would imagine being militarized starting at the age of seven and being beaten for every mistake would be quite traumatic."

"How would you know if it's this PTSD?" Zuko questioned.

"Well, the first thing I am going to do is test her to see if she's a sociopath. If she is not, I'll proceed with the test for PTSD."

"And what test is that?" Mai questioned.

The Doctor removed the blanket that was in the basket. Underneath it, lay a sleeping puppy.

"You brought a PUPPY?" Zuko was baffled.

"People who are sociopathic have trouble empathizing with the needs of others. They don't feel bad when they make people cry. They don't know how to connect themselves to others emotionally. Puppies, in contrast, are like the anti-sociopath. They can connect to almost anyone.

If she is a sociopath, then she will not think much of this little furry friend, but if she is capable of making basic emotional connections, then she will connect with this puppy. His name is Bo."

He had reddish blonde fur, and he was about ten weeks old. He had just been weaned last week.

The doctor signaled for the guard to open Azula's door. Her room was only marginally better than a prison cell. There were walls instead of bars, but they were made of stone and steel. There was no color in the room. There was only a bed and a closet for her clothes. There was no desk, no bookshelf or any books. There was nothing for her mind. No wonder it was so fragmented.

The doctor let in the puppy and they observed her from the two-way mirror on the other side of her room.

She turned when she discovered the furry critter and he unabashedly ran to her.

Zuko feared Azula might kill the puppy. Mai figured she'd ignore it, but for the first time in almost a year, she smiled. She scooped him up and put him in her arms. "You're so cute," she cooed as he licked her nose.

She checked his nametag. "Your name is Bo. I'm Azula."

For the first time in months, she had a normal conversation.

"Like I said, I don't think she's a sociopath."

After giving them some alone time, Dr. Sing went into her cell. Zuko thought he was crazy when he waved away the guards.

"Hello Azula."

She looked up and saw the young man, clearly an Earth Kingdom National, likely a noble since he had clean teeth. "Who are you?"

"I'm Dr. Sing. Your brother asked me to come here and help you."

She scoffed. "What can you do that the other doctors couldn't?"

"I don't think the other doctors understood what your problem is. Have you ever heard of PTSD?"

She shook her head.

"I can't believe she's talking to him," Zuko was astounded. Azula had refused to talk to any of the other doctors. The puppy kept her calm. Who would have thought a 4kg creature could make all the difference.

"It stands for post-traumatic stress disorder. A lot of people have been diagnosed with it after the war. The symptoms include night terrors, a reluctance to engage with others socially, reacting violently when others intrude on your personal space, and in severe cases hallucinations."

Azula was four for four. "Can you make the voices stop?"

"I can try. My odds will be better if you help me."

"What can I do?"

"First, you can help me train Bo."

"Surely, you know how to train a puppy."

"Oh I do, but I think training him will help you learn how to forge healthy connections with others. I read your file. Your family didn't provide a healthy environment for you. I think that, along with your father's violent training methods, are why you're here.

I can provide medicine and talk therapy, but I need you to embrace them if they are going to have any chance of working. Can you do that?"

"Azula nodded."

"Then we'll be back tomorrow. Come on Bo!"

Bo jumped out of Azula's arms and followed the doctor out of the room.

* * *

Zuko wasn't sure how Dr. Sing got more progress in 20 minutes than six doctors had in nine months, but he was ready to give the doctor the go ahead on anything he wanted to do at this point.

"How long do you think it will be before she's normal?"

"Define normal. There are aspects to Azula that will never be deemed normal, like her preference for girls."

"What?" Zuko and Mai both questioned.

"Was it not obvious to you? She strived so hard for Ozai's approval because she had to legitimize herself. She knew that being a lesbian would make her "weird" in the eyes of the rest of the world. She thought her only way of being accepted was being at the top. No one challenges the Fire Lord, so she strived to be the next one.

It was only another reason for her to never challenge her father. She was afraid if he looked at her too closely, he would see what was right in front of him, that she was more inclined to marry the maid than she was any of the male suitors he had presented to her."

"Did she tell you that?" Now that the doctor said it, it seemed obvious that she was gay, but he never thought about it before.

"You did, with the personal history you sent me."

"But we didn't even know all of that," Mai countered.

"I had to read between the lines a bit, but from what you all collectively knew about Azula, certain things were clear. She targeted you and Zuko as children because she was jealous. She would never be able to openly pursue a girl the way that Zuko could, so she relished in sabotaging your dates. It also gave her a chance to spend more time with Ty Lee, without you two around."

"You think that ..." Zuko didn't even have a way of finishing the sentence.

"I have no idea if her affections were ever returned, but she gravitated towards Ty Lee for a reason, a romantic one. She likely knew she was different from the other girls for a reason, but she didn't know how to articulate it. She likely thought that she should have been a boy before she realized that she was a girl who liked other girls.

Azula's ability to become "normal" as you earlier called it largely depends on her ability to find acceptance in a post-war world, and her orientation will affect that just as much as her actions during the war. I can help her heal her mind, but I can't make the world a more inviting place for her. What she needs is somewhere to go when she's released, something to do, something for her to be apart of. That will depend on what you do when she's ready to leave," the doctor told Zuko.

The Fire Lord was baffled. He had learned too much information at once, and his brain went into overload.

* * *

They were already on the way back to the palace. Mai wondered how she missed what a doctor could tell from reading some records. There was no doubt in her mind that he was right. Mai could only wonder how things would have changed if they had known, if they could have assured her that she didn't have to become her father to survive. She wondered if reconciliation was really possible For the first time since Boiling Rock, she wanted it to be.


	2. Zuko's Choice

I meant to stop at one teaser, but I didn't. Azula might be fluffier after her reformation, but she'll still be the cunning, strategist who keeps secrets on top of secrets. I decided each teaser will be self-contained, so you don't need to read them all, but it will make more sense if you do.

**August 101AG**

Zuko was exhausted. He had just fended off the third serious attempt on his life. He knew Ozai's cronies would come for him, but he didn't realize how desperate they would be for a new sovereign, how reckless their attempts would be. A firebender set fire to the Fire Lord's palanquin while he was on it, and a mob attacked when Zuko had to jump off.

To make matters even worse, the people hate him. They blame him for taxes being high, revenue being low and food being too expensive. Zuko knew he made some mistakes with his legislation, but he was trying to help rebuild the world his forefathers destroyed for 100 years. Unfortunately, Zuko's guilt can't be taken to the bank. If it could, everyone could live like a fat cat.

The people hate him so much that they publicly call for Azula's return, even though doing so is technically treason. They are past the point of caring. They are too pissed off to be intimidated by the glares the royal guards give them and when the guards tried to arrest one particularly boisterous offender, an angry mob attacked them.

Ozai was an awful person, but people didn't try to kill him, not like this. He ruled with an iron fist, but even so, people could have killed him. All it would have taken was one treasonous guard or one contemptuous cook, but it never happened. He was safe until the Avatar.

"How did Ozai survive this?" he asked himself in desperation.

"Azula watched his blindside," Mai answered as she came into his office.

"What?"

"She kept the nobles happy. She kept people in line so Ozai could ravish the country as he pleased without it ever coming back to haunt him. People tolerated polluted rivers and their own sickness better than they will tolerate your attempts to fix the world."

"Thanks for the motivational speech."

Mai rolled her eyes. "My point is that Azula can get these people to stomach anything."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying maybe we should bring her home. Even if she just gets a puffed up position in the court that doesn't actually do anything, it could be enough to appease the people. If we get your popularity up, these attacks will stop, or at least they'll stop being so brazen."

Bring Azula home to stop the madness. "That's an interesting idea. I need to think."

Mai nodded. "I'll be in the study." She left.

* * *

Zuko had a difficult decision to make. He had already arranged for the Kyoshi Warriors to come protect him. Suki was going to have a heart attack if she came here to find Azula in the palace. The world leaders will all be furious. Kuei may even try to extradite her. Bringing her home could set back a year's worth of work. Zuko was about to say no, but then he thought again.

He had been so focused on his responsibility to the world that he had neglected his own nation and it was coming back to haunt him. He needed someone who could focus on the Fire Nation on his people. Azula was Fire Nation through and through. It was her fierce nationalism that kept her obedient to Ozai, despite his abuse of her time and time again. If she could protect the country while he resolved the problems in the world ravished by their greatgrandfather's war, perhaps they could just make it through.

Before he made his decision, however, there was one man he had to consult.

* * *

Dr. Sing came to the asylum with Bo the puppy.

"Sit," Azula commanded as they entered her room. Bo sat immediately. "Good boy," she told him. With a wave of her hand, he came to her for his pets and a dog cookie. She liked it when her orders were followed, even if the only one she could order right now was a dog. She'd find her way back into the political arena. She just had to be patient.

"How are you doing today?" the doctor asked her.

"I'm fine." The medication did wonders for her anxiety and her lack of appetite. She was just bored in here.

"Just fine."

"I'd be better if I had something to do all day, other than working on Bo's obedience."

"I think you'll have more going on in your life soon enough."

"What does that mean?" she raised a brow in curiosity.

"It's just a feeling."

"What did Zuko tell you?" Azula saw right through him. Now that she was stable again, her lie-detection skills were back up to par.

He should have known. "He asked to meet with me tomorrow. He didn't say why, but you're my only patient here, so I must assume the meeting is about you."

"And …"

"And, should he ask about your status, I'll tell him the truth."

"Which is?"

"That in my professional opinion, you are no longer a threat to yourself or anyone else."

Azula frowned. "I was born to be a threat to the safety of others. It's my job to keep the enemies at bay."

"Of course, but someone as cunning as you can surely keep people in line without killing them."

"Are you mocking me?"

"Only slightly."

"There was a time I'd throw lightening at someone who dared mock me."

"It's a good thing your firebending is off, isn't it?"

Azula grumbled. "I am trained in hand to hand combat. I don't need my flame to kill."

"And with that, I take my exit. Come on Bo!"

Dr. Sing had his own experience with lie-detection. He knew that Azula's thinly veiled threats were to maintain her image. She was raised to be fierce, to strike out against anyone who dared challenge her. She, however, was not Ozai. Dr. Sing refused to believe that she could ever be.

* * *

The next day, Dr. Sing arrived in the Fire Lord's office.

"Dr. Sing, thank you for coming."

You do pay my salary. Dr. Sing nodded. "What can I do for you?"

"I have a difficult decision to make; one I was hoping you could help me with."

"Go on."

"Assassins keep trying to kill me."

"I assume they aren't mentally ill."

"No, they're not."

"Forgive me, but what can I do?"

"It's not what you can do, it's what Azula can do. Her expertise is dealing with disgruntled nobles. She kept them all in line, so that Ozai wouldn't get assassinated, and if her mental health can take it, I would like her to do the same for me."

"You want to know if a job in your government will be too stressful for her?"

"Yes."

Dr. Sing paused for a moment before answering. "When we first met, you asked me if Azula would ever be normal. Azula will never be normal. She's too intelligent to be normal. She knows when people are lying, when they're hiding something, when they are afraid. Her ability to read people is too well honed for her to be normal.

Even the most innocuous comments can mean something irksome to her. That being said, her mind is strong and she wants to do something more than just train Bo during the day. I think she will do quite well in a professional setting. I think she needs it."

Zuko nodded. "I have one other problem. Despite her successes domestically or perhaps because of them, she has made a lot of enemies with our foreign allies. How do you think she will handle having to work with people who well hater her?"

Dr. Sing told him, "Your sister will do what her country needs of her. If she has to sit across the table with people who she despises, she will. As soon as the meeting is over, however, she'll likely say something to send them in a rage. She likes to keep control of her emotions by making her opponents lose control of theirs. It's who she bested you so often when you were younger. She knew you had a short fuse and would knowingly push your buttons, causing you to make a mistake. That aspect of her hasn't changed."

"If you were me, would you let her come home?"

"It depends. Are you asking me as a Fire Lord or as a brother?"

As a Fire Lord, Zuko had to balance his need for her domestically with the perhaps rightful rage of the rest of the world, but as a brother, Zuko only had to consider one thing.

"Thank you Dr. Sing. Again, you've been most helpful."

Zuko had her chambers prepared. The Crown Princess was coming home.


	3. Looking for a Missing Flame

**October 101AG**

Azula was an enigma. In public, she had a smile on her face. She would give speeches that would excite the crowd for the future. She would wine and dine with nobles and people would even bring their babies, so she could kiss their foreheads, a tradition Ty Lee never understood, but Azula went along with it.

At home, however, the princess would hide. She might get coaxed along into playing a game of pai sho with her brother and she would have the occasional tea with Mai, but she was holding back. She had all of the energy in the world for the public, but she was somewhat of an empty shell when she came back home.

Ty Lee was determined to figure out why. She woke up early, so she could observe the princess. Azula would train outside at sunrise, just like she always did, but she didn't use her flame. Instead, she would practice her jumps and kicks, punches and dodging. She only did martial arts. She never liked weapons much.

She would keep a shuriken in her pocket, but she was never one for metal weapons, especially since now people knew of metalbending. Weapons with metal were a liability against the wrong foe and Azula took no chances.

Ty Lee wondered why Azula didn't use her flame. Aang didn't take her bending. There were calls for that, but Zuko adamantly refused.

When Ty Lee asked Mai about it, the former assassin noted, "I haven't seen Azula use her flame at all. I didn't think much of it, since we don't train together anymore, but I haven't seen her so much as light a candle since she came home."

Zuko didn't know either. "I only asked her not to throw lightening at anyone unless it was absolutely dire." It hadn't even occurred to him that she couldn't do it anymore.

Ty Lee watched her for two more days to make sure, but the Princess's fire was gone.

When Ty Lee went the fourth day, Azula turned around. "Why do you keep watching me train?"

"I was wondering why you don't use your fire anymore."

"Fire's not everything."

"It was to you."

"Things change. I changed."

"I know, but are you choosing not to use your fire or did it leave you?"

Everybody leaves her. Azula thought her fire would be the only constant in her life, but it left her too. Not right away, she threw plenty of fireballs in the asylum, but one day it was gone, like a dried up stream.

"What difference does it make?"

"If it's gone, we can try and get it back."

"We?"

"Yes, we."

Ty Lee assumed the problem was spiritual. Azula was in perfect health, but she needed something to drive her. Without her goals of being Fire Lord and making her father proud, she was missing something, a spark as it were. In order to find a new one, Azula had to learn to be at peace with her new life.

She reveled in being adored again. She grinned at making cunning deals, one after another, but they didn't satisfy her. The pleasure was always short-lived. The thrill ran out by the time she got home.

Every day, Azula and Ty Lee would do meditative yoga together. The Princess's aura was bright yellow. She was afraid of losing the people's respect. She didn't tell her brother about her firebending trouble because she would have to admit her source for pride was gone. It was easier to suffer without it than it was to ask for help to bring it back.

The warriors knew Ty Lee trained with Azula before she trained with them. Suki was worried that Azula was learning how to become more deadly. "You haven't taught her how to chi block." It was their one trump card if Azula got out of line. They didn't want to lose it.

"No," was all Ty Lee would say. She didn't discuss their training with anyone else. It wasn't their business.

**November 101AG**

Azula had become stronger. She had gotten out of shape at the asylum, but now her body was limber and strong once again. She practiced the forms Ty Lee taught her militantly. Ty Lee didn't know how to correct her. It wasn't about perfection. It was about finding balance. Azula didn't know what that meant. In her eyes, balance and perfection were one and the same.

Unsure of how to help her friend, Ty Lee tried a different angle. Azula had become withdrawn because her firebending was gone. Maybe helping her socialize would help her bring her firebending back.

When they went to nobleman's birthday party later in the week, the man's son had a sub-party in the basement. There was loud music and cheap moonshine being served as people danced and writhed all over the floor.

"What is this?" Azula asked in confusion. There was no order to their movements. This wasn't the formal dancing they learned at the academy. This was impromptu dry humping or something.

"This is what people our age do," Ty Lee told her.

"Try to mate on the dance floor."

"No, they let go. They enjoy. They embrace life as a celebration.

"This is horrifying."

They served whiskey in glass vessels. Ty Lee grabbed two, one for her and one for Azula.

"Just try it."

Azula frowned as she put it to her lips. "This is strong."

"I made it myself," one boy said proudly. He had his own still in the back of his house.

"Is this what you do for a living?"

"Oh no. I collect taxes for my father's province. This is for fun."

Azula looked at her hand. "This is fun?"

She chugged it, wondering what was this elusive fun everyone boasted about. It wasn't long before she was trashed. Without her firebending, she couldn't heatbend the booze away.

"That dry humping is starting to look like fun," she said to her friend. She wasn't sure if it was the music or the booze, but something was making her want to move her butt.

Ty Lee laughed. "Let's dance."

She took Azula to the middle of the dance floor. Ty Lee started to move. Azula watched curiously before she tried to match her. Ty Lee seemed not to have a care in the world.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Move like you don't feel like everyone's watching you."

Ty Lee had an idea. She put a blindfold over Azula's eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Now, you can't see them watching you."

"But they still could be."

"So, does a tree make noise if it falls in the forest but there's no one there to hear it?"

"Of course it does!"

Ty Lee didn't listen for the answer. She only laughed as she spun Azula around.

Azula yanked the blindfold off her head. "That was the most ridiculous thing you've ever done. Why I ought to!"

Before, Azula knew it, she was dancing and she didn't seem to care about what anyone thought of it.

"And you thought you couldn't dance," Ty Lee said with a smirk.

Azula ought to leave right now. Why would she give Ty Lee the satisfaction of being right?

She turned to go, but when she saw the light hitting Ty Lee's body perfectly, capturing her smooth curves as she twirled around on the ground, she was too star struck to do anything but watch.

"Like what you see," Ty Lee asked cockily.

"Shut up!"

The girls were tired when they went home. The next day, Azula refused to admit that she had fun. "I suppose it wasn't totally horrible," she said in a snooty tone.

Ty Lee laughed. "You had fun. I can see it in your aura."

"You can see nothing!"

The princess was getting better, but she still hadn't figured out what she needed to spark her fire.

**December 101AG**

Aang was in the Fire Nation, trying to resolve some dispute between Zuko and Kuei over a trade agreement.

Kuei insisted that he got the wrong goods from Zuko and refused to continue trade with him until he rectified the matter. Not wanting the nations to go to a trade war, Aang had to

"I sent him exactly what he ordered," Zuko insisted. There had been some type of mistake and the glass windows Kuei ordered ended up being too large for the building where had planned to install them.

Kuei of course wanted his money back, but Zuko wouldn't accept it.

"Kuei said he'd return the windows for his money," Aang told him.

"What am I supposed to do with the windows? I didn't want them. We made them for his building. It's not a standard size. I can't resell them."

Zuko showed Aang his records. It said right on the form he got from Kuei that the windows were to be .5m*1m. "And that is precisely what the windows measured out to be."

Aang tried talking to the man who made the windows next. "Is this a common size?"

"No. I actually sent my assistant back to the palace to double check before I cut them, but they showed us the original order form, and we made the windows." He showed Aang how he poured the glass and how he used a machine to make sure it was the right size. "You just move the slides here, until it's the dimension you want, length, width and specified thickness. Then you just pour the molten glass, so they all come out the same."

Aang frowned. It seemed hard to get wrong. "Thank you for the demo." He headed back to the palace. He wasn't sure what to do.

"What's wrong with you?" Azula questioned as she went to the library to get a book.

For some reason unknown to Aang, he told her his dilemma "Kuei ordered windows for a new building, and he wanted the Fire Nation to make them because their glass is extra thick and hard to break. Zuko sent him the windows along with whatever else they were trading, but the windows are too big for the building and Kuei wants his money back.

Zuko refused to refund it because he says he made what was ordered, and the architect must have messed up, and now Kuei's threatening to start a trade war over it."

"It's a simple inquiry," Azula told him. "Either the guy can't make windows properly or someone wrote down the wrong numbers for him."

Aang showed her the order form. "I went to the window maker today. I don't think he made a mistake."

"Then ask Kuei's architect for the measurements that he sent them. Any decent architect would keep a record of what supplies he ordered."

"I did ask him for the invoice and he said he couldn't find it."

"Are you sure he couldn't find it? Maybe he went to get it and when he did, he realized he wrote down the wrong number. Not wanting to embarrass himself in front of Kuei, he lied and said Zuko's guy messed up. People fib to save themselves from embarrassment all the time."

It sounded plausible.

"All you have to do is follow the chain from the architect to the window maker. Somewhere there was a mistake."

Aang took Zuko's invoice with him and went back to Ba Sing Se. The windows were just as they had been ordered. "I have the invoice Zuko got from you," Aang told the king. "It's exactly what Zuko said it was."

Kuei frowned. "How can this be?"

When he went to see the architect, the man denied giving Kuei those numbers. "You're secretary must have messed up the order." Either way, Zuko's guy was innocent.

"I think this is an internal dispute now," Aang told him.

Kuei agreed to resume trade with the Fire Nation; not that he would apologize for his mistake.

Aang went back to tell Zuko the deal was still on.

"I'll send our next shipment out at once," Zuko had held it until he knew he would get the goods he had been promised in return.

Aang thanked Azula for her help, but she shrugged him off. "Sometimes it's easy to get distracted by what people are telling you. You have to tune them out and just do what makes sense."

He offered to do her a favor in return. She couldn't think of anything, but Ty Lee had an idea. "Maybe you could take her to see Guru Pathik."

"Who?" Azula questioned.

"Why?" Aang wondered.

She was about to say Azula's been having trouble with her chi flow, but she knew Azula would flip if she told him that, so instead she said, "she wants to learn more about meditation. So do I!"

Unsure if that was really the whole store, Aang took them to the Eastern Air Temple anyway.

Azula jumped off Appa and said, "I'm sure we can find it from here."

Aang knew that was a dismissal and took off for the afternoon. "Let's get something to eat Appa!"

"Why are we here?" Azula shivered at the cold air.

"He helped Aang learn the avatar state. Maybe he can help you get your bending back."

They found the man meditating by the spring.

"Princess, Ty Lee, welcome."

"How did he know who we were?"

"I had a vision you would show up."

"Now, I'm creeped out. Let's run!"

"Calm down," Ty Lee hissed. Azula was easily spooked by what she didn't understand.

The guru handed her a cup of juice. "Drink this. It will help you clear your mind."

Azula took a sip. "This is horrid. What is it?"

"Onion banana juice."

Azula was ready to run. Ty Lee glared at her. Azula was surprised. She actually expects me to drink this? Azula chugged it and the guru began.

"Now let's begin. What's troubling you?"

"My bending. It's all dried up. I don't have a source anymore."

"I see, and what was your source before?"

"I wanted my father to be proud of me. I wanted to be Fire Lord. Both of those things are out of reach, and I don't know what to strive for anymore." Azula hadn't said these words out loud before. It felt weird.

"You have realized that you need a new direction. That is a start, but you can't move forward until you let go of your past. Your chi flows like these little pools." The Guru pointed at the flowing water. "All you have to do is jam up one chakra and the flow is halted."

Azula adopted a meditative pose. They began with her Earth chakra. "This chakra deals with survival and is blocked by fear." When Azula closed her eyes, she could see her father's angry face when she messed up during her training, her father walking in on her and Ty Lee in bed after they conquered Ba Sing Se, finding out that she was a lesbian, her own defeat in the agni kai the year before, and her father renouncing her. She was afraid of not being the best, of losing her father's good will. Why fear what's already happened?

The images disappeared.

"Very good. Let's move on."

As they went through the chakras, Ty Lee could see Azula's aura changing colors. Her aura started to become deep red. With her pain dissipating, her confident, cocky self was slowly coming back.

When they got to her fifth chakra, Azula had to confront her lies. There were so many. She lied to Zuko to bring him home to father. She lied to Kuei to get into the palace by pretending to be a Kyoshi Warrior. She lied to father about killing the avatar. She told so many lies, most of them to Zuko's detriment, yet he took her back. Maybe she owed him the truth sometimes.

Azula felt drained by the time she was done.

"It won't come back immediately, but as you move forward with your life, you will find that your flame has returned."

"Thank you."

They waited where Aang had dropped them off until he came back to pick them up.

He wasn't sure what all they did there, but Azula seemed different, somber in a way.

* * *

A few weeks later, it was the end of the year. There was a party at the palace. Zuko's friends had shown up and Azula had little interest in spending time with them.

Instead, she and Ty Lee were hosting a sub-party in one of the empty halls of the palace.

The room was filled with cheap moonshine and loud music. A band of noblemen's sons was playing for the party. Their payment had been free liquor and a place to crash for the night.

Azula wore a tube top and pants. Ty Lee looked perfect in her dress, even if it was pink.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you look pretty in pink?"

"No, but you usually tell me how much you despise the color."

"Oh I do, but even I can't deny how suitable it is on you."

Azula enjoyed the better liquor upstairs before she came down to her party. Right now, she felt free and powerful. She pulled Ty Lee in for a hungry kiss. The acrobat was surprised by Azula's bold move, but when did she not take people by surprise by moving so suddenly, so aggressively.

Ty Lee felt like a koala sheep that had been picked up by a hungry dragon. She could feel Azula's body heat. The girl felt like she was on fire. When they broke the kiss, Ty Lee noticed that all of the lights in the room were blue. "You're flame is back," Ty Lee told her.

Azula looked. "So it is." She kissed Ty Lee again.


	4. Secret's Out

This was supposed to be chapter III, and chapter III was supposed to be chapter IV. Whoops!

* * *

The Secret's Out

**August 101AG**

Ty Lee was scrambling to pack her bag. Why did she wait until the last minute? Darn it!

"Ty! Are you ready?" Suki questioned.

"Two more minutes!"

Suki ran upstairs. "We need to go. We don't want to hold up the boat."

"I know, but …"

Suki rolled her eyes and started throwing Ty Lee's stuff into bags. "Everyone, help Ty Lee pack NOW!" The girls ran upstairs and magically got her junk into the bags.

"Thanks!"

"You're apart of a team now," Suki told her.

It still warmed Ty Lee's heart that she was an equal player. She had been non-existent in her family and everyone knew Azula was the star of their trio. Suki was the leader, but she didn't act like she was better than anyone else. It was pleasant.

"Let's go girls!"

They scrambled to get on their boat. By the end of the day, they would be at the Fire Nation palace, serving Zuko as his new security team.

"Ready to go back home?" One of the girls asked Ty Lee.

The palace had been a surrogate home in the way. "Yes, I can't wait to see Mai." As soon as she said it, though, it sounded wrong. Azula's not going to be there. Mai did say she was doing better with the new doctor. Maybe she'll be able to come home soon.

* * *

"I ought to kill you," Mai said to her boyfriend. "You sneaky little weasel."

"I thought you'd want to see Ty Lee right away."

"You jerkoff. You don't want to be the one to tell Suki that you brought your sister home."

Zuko couldn't hide from that. "I think she'll take the news better from you."

"Why because she'll want to castrate you and you won't be there?"

"Yeah."

"You butthead!"

"That's Fire Lord Butthead to you."

"I like that better," Azula said as she came into the room. "You're preliminary report is done."

Right away, Azula had been asked to investigate the assassination attempts on Zuko's life. Most of the assassins either died in the attempt or committed suicide in jail, so it was hard to determine who had hired them, but Azula had some connections to the black market, so she was able to get clues and hints that Zuko could not.

"Do we have enough to make an arrest?"

She shook her head. "Not for the attempts on your life, but I was able to find out about other crimes that our suspects committed. If we can't get them in line, I suggest you just jail them for those."

"What kinds of crimes?"

"A variety of things, war profiteering, drug dealing, tax fraud. Enough such that sending a subpoena for their business records should be enough to keep them frightened."

Zuko wanted to jail those who had tried to kill him. If he didn't, what would stop them from trying again? Azula, however, had a different approach. "I think we should turn our focus to our allies."

"What allies?" Zuko asked her.

"Exactly. Ozai used a tomato carrot and a stick to get his way. He threatened those who dared opposed him, but he offered sufficient rewards to those who publically showed their loyalty. Your government isn't just failing because of their political blunders. It's failing because there aren't any powerful families standing up and saying they support you. We need to change that if you are going to have any success."

"And how do you do that?" Mai questioned.

"Patronage. You offer cushy government positions to their sons. They reward you with their political power and if you get the right allies under your thumb, you can put a stranglehold on the black market, making it very difficult to send an assassin after you."

"So instead of jailing them, you want to make them our friends?" Zuko questioned.

"Friend is a strong word. I prefer ally because you share a common goal, but you don't have to like each other. Let's take the Chiefs for example. Arnook and Hakoda have a common foe, you when it comes to reparation agreements, but they aren't friends. Arnook is of noble blood. Hakoda is a peasant.

They are separated by more than just geography. The Northern Water Tribe sees itself as above the Southern Water Tribe due to their wealth and better political status. The Southern Water Tribe resents them for this, as well as not being as supportive of them during the Southern Raids as they could have been. This will prevent them from being friends in the true sense of the word, but when it comes to World Summits, they join forces to gang up on you."

Zuko grumbled. "I need allies."

"Yes."

"Which is why, Mai should get the warriors settled in while we work on finding me allies."

Mai flipped him off.

"You chose him," Azula said with a smirk.

* * *

The siblings went to the library where Azula had the librarian pull the family trees of various noble families. Azula pointed to those who had the most wealth and political clout and showed him which of these men she thought would be the easiest to forge a bond.

"He never really liked Ozai but he tolerated him," Azula said as she pointed to one noble. "He is in a land dispute with the city. If we offered to make it go away, he would likely forget all about Ozai and join us. This one is a newcomer to the scene. He's young and he just inherited his father's vast estate. He needs allies just as much as we do."

Zuko started writing down the names. "And how do we approach these people?"

"Leave that to me." This is where Azula's training came in handy.

Two hours later, the princess left the palace with a royal guard. Her hair was in its signature topknot held up with a royal pin. She wore a gold top with a Fire Nation button at the breast and black pants.

She made her way to the speakeasy where she knew many of the nobles hung out during the day when they were avoiding both their work and their wives. Just her lucky day, two of the three nobles she needed were right here, sharing a table.

"Mind if I join you, gentlemen?"

"Of course not Princess. It would be a privilege."

She waved her hand. "I need a whiskey neat."

"Of course."

"No ice," one of the men commented.

"Why slowdown the inevitable?"

"What can we do for you princess?" the other man inquired.

"A good question. As I'm sure you know, my brother has made a number of enemies since he took the crown. He meant well, but as you can see, he's a fool. No doubt about it. However, he has come to realize that he's not as good at this as he assumed he would be. He has asked me to garner good will amongst the nobility; hence, he has authorized me to make deals as necessary to forge alliances with the right people."

"He sent you to clean up his mess," one of the men said bluntly.

"Yes he did, and I have a feeling that you two would make good allies."

A smile covered both of their faces. "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

While Azula shored up Zuko's political connections, the Fire Lord was struggling with how to explain to the world what he did. He knew Suki would lose it and she'd tell Sokka who'd tell Katara and Aang and they'd all be here just to yell at him, but he thought long and hard about this, and he knew it was the right thing to do.

Shouldn't that be enough? He's the Fire Lord for Agni's sake and none of them are his citizens. They don't understand what it is like to be from this world, to have been raised by Ozai. If they only knew of his cruelty, perhaps they would see Azula in a different light.

He had half a mind to just hand over her medical report, but she would kill him if he did that. She was a very private person, and she would not want her enemies to know the things Ozai put her through as a child. It was hard enough to get her to tell Dr. Sing, and it's not like Bo would be with her when she had to face her former foes.

What if he could be? Would having a therapy pet be enough to keep Azula in line? He decided to inquire about this with the doctor before he left. In two days time, he would be going back to the Ba Sing Se to take over his clinic again.

The Fire Lord rushed to the doctor's apartment, hoping to catch him at a good time.

"What can I do for you my Lord?" The doctor was packing his bags.

"Do you think a therapy pet would help Azula when she has to deal with the world leaders?"

"It's a kind thought, but she doesn't need a therapy pet. Those are really for people who have such high levels of anxiety that they have attacks and outbursts. Like if I were raising my hand to brush my hair back, but your sister thought I was going to attack her so she sprang into defense mode. Therapy pets deal with those kinds of situations, not general animosity."

That made sense, but what if the puppy kept his friends from attacking. It would be hard to attack with a puppy in sight.

"What are you going to do with Bo?"

"I found a veteran with severe PTSD who needs a therapy pet. I was going to ask Azula if she wanted to accompany me when I deliver Bo tomorrow."

"Could I borrow him for the night?"

"Sure."

* * *

When Zuko delivered Mai the puppy, she asked him, "What is this for?"

"I figured it would be hard for Suki to stay angry with a puppy, so …"

"You brought him for moral support?"

"Yeah."

"You're a fool."

Zuko kissed her. "I'm your fool."

"Don't remind me."

* * *

By the time Azula left the bar, she had two alliances in her pocket. She had one more nobleman to acquire and from there she should have what she needed to get the people in line. Once you have some major players on your side, the minor support shows up in droves.

Azula would not go to them when they would come to her. She could use a snack after all that whiskey. She bought a basket of steam buns on her way home and enjoyed the treat in her palanquin. "Oh this hits the spot!" she said happily.

She got to her chambers and stretched out in her bed. She had forgotten all about the warriors. She decided to take a nap.

* * *

Mai on the other hand, hadn't forgotten at all. When she told Zuko to get back here, he reminded her it was her idea to bring Azula home. She could just kick his cute little butt!

Azula could at least be here to help with this mess. It is after all her mess. She went to the princess's chambers to see her sleeping and cuddling with a pillow. She actually looks cute when she sleeps.

Mai shook her head. I guess it's just you and me Bo.

* * *

At the docks, Suki was surprised by Sokka.

"You're here?"

He kissed her. "I wanted to wish you luck for your first day of work."

Aang and Katara were holding hands. "We came to wish you luck too!"

How sweet!

Suki flew with them on Appa. Everyone else got in the palanquin Zuko had sent for them and they were on their way to the palace.

The guards opened the doors and they were escorted into the tearoom where Mai was waiting.

"I wasn't expecting you," Mai said of the Avatar and his trio.

"We decided to come to wish them luck," Katara said.

You would. "Well, this is Bo everyone."

"Aw!" Ty Lee went and played with him. "He's so sweet!" He obediently sat in front of her while she rubbed him.

"Is he yours?" Aang couldn't see her having a pet.

"No. He's Dr. Sing's."

"Who?" Sokka questioned.

"Azula's former therapist. He has a clinic in Ba Sing Se. Anyway, this is the therapy dog he used with her."

"And he's alive," Suki said snidely.

"She trained him," Mai pointed out.

"No wonder he's so obedient," Ty Lee laughed. "Lie down."

He did it instantly.

"Oh I love him!" Ty Lee rubbed his belly.

"Why is he here?" Katara asked.

"Zuko thought he would help with breaking the news."

"What news?" Sokka questioned.

"I think she's getting to that," Suki told him.

"Yeah, as I was about to say. Zuko decided to release Azula from the asylum and bring her home."

Sokka laughed. "For a moment there, I thought you said Zuko released Azula from the asylum and brought her home."

"Oh that's a good one," Aang commented.

"That would be crazy," Katara commented.

They were all laughing. This was going to get ugly.

"I did say that and I was serious," Mai said dryly.

Ty Lee knew she was. "I don't think she's kidding," Ty Lee added.

"She has to be! Zuko wouldn't let someone so dangerous out without warning anyone," Katara insisted.

"Dr. Sing has concluded that she's no longer a threat to herself or others," Mai retorted. "Anyway, she is the Crown Princess once again, and she's apart of Zuko's Court. She's in charge of domestic relations."

Aang's eyes got wide. "I don't think this is a game." The only person who ever broke the Avatar cycle was out. Furthermore, she was a major player in the Fire Nation government. This just got scary.

Suki erupted. "HOW COULD HE DO THIS? HOW COULD HE EXPECT ME TO LIVE WITH HER? AFTER WHAT SHE DID TO ME? I HAVE HALF A MIND TO …"

She wouldn't have taken the job is she had known Azula would be here.

"He doesn't expect you to live with her. She has her own quarters, which is effectively an apartment within the palace. It's not like you're her roommate."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Suki was in Mai's face.

"You may get away with yelling and screaming to get what you want, but it won't work with me," Mai said coldly, her hand on her knife. "Zuko asked you to come here to defend against threats on the royal family, and that includes her. If you want to quit, then turn around and go home, but I will not stand for this disorder."

Sokka grabbed Suki's collar, dragging her away from an angry Mai.

"Where is she?" he questioned.

"The last time I saw her, she was taking a nap."

"A nap?" Aang questioned. That sounded so benign.

"Yes a nap."

Mai tried offering Suki Bo. "Pet the puppy."

Suki scowled at the condescending action, but she had to admit. "He's so cute!"

Katara demanded to see Zuko.

"Do you think I'd be standing here if he were available?"

He wisely hid.

* * *

Azula woke up and decided she wanted something to eat. Unsure of when dinner was, she walked to the kitchen. On her way there, Sokka yelled there she is.

"What?" Azula turned and before she knew it, he had a sword in her face. Katara yelling something about killing her if she harmed any of them and Suki trying to convince Mai that she would only kill her own brother. Not taking very well to threats, Azula kicked Sokka in the stomach, making him double over in pain before kicking his sword out of his hand and confiscating it. "You're lucky I didn't have you jailed for that," she said as she walked away with his space sword.

"That's MINE!" he wined as he saw her leaving.

"It was yours. Maybe you'll get it back when you leave."

She made it through a secret passageway before anyone could stop her.

"She just vanished," Aang said when he couldn't find her.

"She stole my sword."

"You did put it to her throat," Ty Lee pointed out. "You couldn't have expected her to respond well to that."

Eventually, Mai got sick of trying to appease them and left.

* * *

When Zuko did show his face, at dinner, he got a lot of anger pointed his way.

"What were you thinking?"

"Why didn't you warn anybody?"

"You can't do this!"

Zuko only answered them one time. "I can and I did. As the Fire Lord, it's my job to keep this country stable, and right now it's in shambles. People are trying to kill me left and right. My people all hate me. They can't afford food. They're not making any money at work, and unless you can buy their groceries or their goods, then it's not for you to say how I deal with it.

Azula knows how to feed people. She knows how to get the nobles to stop sending assassins after me, and yes, she could try to kill me for the throne, but I'd rather have one person trying to kill me than a dozen. Let's just say, I consolidated my risk."

Usually you want to spread out your risk, but Azula decided not to point out this economic blunder to her brother. She instead watched Zuko's friends yelling at him left and right with a smirk on her face.

Azula, the Princess of Fire, shot her brother, killed the Avatar and yet she was right back in her proper place just one short year later. This must really burn, Azula thought to herself wickedly.

"Shut up," Mai told her.

"I didn't say anything."

"But your face did. Don't do it."

"Aw, you ruin my fun.

* * *

After dinner, Ty Lee hugged Mai. "I meant to do that earlier, but there was a puppy."

Mai snickered. "Zuko's plan to appease them with Bo failed miserably."

"I was appeased."

"Well of course you were."

Ty Lee rolled her eyes. "How have you been?"

"Well, no one tried to kill us since Azula came home, so I guess that's a plus."

"It must have been bad if Zuko brought her back to deal with the others."

"The stress was driving him to drink," Mai said. "I had to do something before he became a drunk. Azula was the only solution I could come up with."

"This was your idea?" Ty Lee wasn't expecting that.

"Why do you think Zuko fed me to the wolves today?"

"How is she?" Ty Lee asked.

"She's still a liar and manipulative, but from what I can tell, she's using her dark magic for good now. She was supposed to be making allies for Zuko today."

"You sent Azula to make friends?"

"No, we sent Azula to make allies."

"What's the difference?"

"Allies share a common goal with you. Friends are people you like."

"Is Azula your ally or your friend at this point?"

"I'm not exactly sure." Azula reported for work, did her job, and then would disappear. Mai wasn't sure if it was because she was still bitter about Boiling Rock, was too untrusting to become Mai's friend again or if it was something totally unrelated. "She keeps to herself when she's not working. I don't know why."

Ty Lee didn't know either, but she wanted to find out.


	5. Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

**February 102AG**

"Did you want to have dinner on Friday?" Azula asked Ty Lee.

"Sure, where?"

"How about Ran's Steakhouse?"

"Isn't that like the fanciest place in the city?"

"I'm sure they'll give me a table."

"I know, but that sounds like a date."

"It is, isn't it?"

What? Ty Lee thought they were just hookup buddies. Did Azula think they were more? "We need to talk."

"About what?"

Ty Lee cringed internally. How did she explain that despite their sexual chemistry, she didn't see a future for them?

"You know how the hotter the fire, the faster it burns."

"Of course."

"Well, for a relationship, you need a slow burn to keep the fire going, and we're more of a hot and fast kind of flame."

"You don't want to date me."

"I'm sure you would make a lovely date, but our personalities are all wrong for each other. You're passionate and fiery. You need someone who can keep you going long term. I'm hyper and do well with a lot of heat but only for a short while.

I didn't realize you wanted anything more than just a short fling," like the first time they hooked up almost two years before. "I'm sorry."

"Forget I said anything." Azula fled the room, not wanting Ty Lee to see her break down and cry.

The acrobat knew she screwed up. What the heck was she thinking fooling around with her best friend who just got out of the asylum six months before and had abandonment issues? She could only think of one person to fix it.

* * *

"You what?" Mai had no idea they had been sleeping together. Sure, Azula seemed more jovial, but she started firebending again. Her flame was back, not that she had ever admitted it had been missing. Had Ty Lee been the cause? Would it only go away again?

"She kissed me on New Years Eve, and it became more than just a kiss. The last time it happened, it was just fun between friends, so I assumed …"

"What do you mean the last time?"

Ty Lee confessed that they had first had relations the night they conquered Ba Sing Se. Drunk and feeling on top of the world, Azula finally let Ty Lee know her feelings (sort of) by coming to her room that night and kissing her. Like a moth to a flame, Ty Lee accepted her advances, even though she knew she would only get burned.

"Dr. Sing was right all along."

"What?"

"He said that she had fallen for you, but he didn't know if it was one-sided or not."

Ty Lee had no idea it had been more than just hormones all this time. Azula never said anything about it. She just got up and left the room in the morning. "You knew she was into me? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't know if she still was, and even if she were, it was her decision whether or not she wanted to tell you at all. It seemed wrong to just blab about everything I learned from her therapist."

This was worse than Ty Lee thought. Azula had been carrying a torch for her for years. One Ty Lee had just unceremoniously extinguished.

"I don't know what to do," Ty Lee admitted.

"I think you did enough," Mai said bluntly. What was she thinking? We just got her back.

Mai didn't tell Zuko. She knew Azula would only be ashamed if her brother knew of her failing at love.

* * *

Azula refused to admit weakness. She put on a veneer of normalcy that was good enough to fool everyone except Mai and Ty Lee. The former assassin had no idea what to say to her, and the acrobat knew that nothing she could say would make it better.

Each morning, she would do her katas perfectly before breakfast. She would go to work, making deals and getting legislation enacted. To those who did not know her well, she seemed exactly the same, but her friends new better.

Mai tried to talk to her, but Azula insisted she was fine. She knew that the princess wouldn't give up the lie, so she tried the only people she thought could break down the Princess's defenses.

* * *

Four days later, Lo and Li arrived from their home on Ember Island. When they heard the Princess needed some guidance, they came right away.

"What's wrong with the princess?"

Mai told them what happened with her and Ty Lee.

"She always kept her emotions where she thought no one could see them," Lo said.

"And it doesn't make the pain any less real."

The twins appeared at Azula's door. Not expecting them, the princess let them inside. She hadn't seen them since Sozin's Comet, and for some reason, she couldn't lie to them and tell them she was just fine. When they approached her, she just broke down and cried.

"There, there princess. You are going to be just fine."

"We will get you as good as new."

They taught her how to make deals and forge alliances. They even taught her how to make her lightening more deadly by drawing charge from the ground, but they never taught her how to handle matters of the heart. They didn't think she'd need it. Ozai surely would have forced her into a political marriage, and she would never love a man. They never thought she'd be free enough to love or in a position to suffer from a broken heart. But they would get her good as new.


	6. Of Brawls and Broken Romances

Of Brawls and Broken Romances

**June 102AG**

Sex wasn't as rewarding as Katara thought it would be. She wasn't expecting much after her first time, but the second and third time did nothing to convince her that she had been missing out on anything.

The master bender didn't know much of positioning, how long it should last or anything else when it came to sex, but she knew that sex was supposed to be good, and with Aang, it wasn't.

She wondered if he was too sweet, if he felt too much like a little brother for her to embrace as a lover. She had no one to talk to about this. It's not like she could tell her brother. Telling Suki would be telling Sokka. Toph wouldn't know anything about it and Zuko, oh that would be all kinds of awkward.

Aang was dealing with some trade dispute with United Republic. They had refused a shipment that they say came too late, when Kuei said it was their own fault it was late because they kept changing the order.

Katara didn't go with Aang. There wasn't much reason as he wouldn't need bending help, and Katara had no interest in politics. It seemed like a sport for grown men to act like babies. Normally, she would have gone to keep him company, but once he discovered sex, he wanted it all the time. It was hard to tell him that his happy time wasn't her happy time.

She needed to get out of the apartment. She had been stuck inside for two days because of rain and now it was finally looking nice.

Omashu was a pleasant city. They were staying there while the Southern Air Temple was going through its final round of renovations. It was too dusty for Katara's liking at the moment. The city was in the middle of everything, so Aang could get to any other major city the same day if he needed to.

Katara, unfortunately, had nothing tying her to Omashu. Her brother was at the Palace with Suki. The rest of her family was back at the tribe. Toph was working for the police in Ba Sing Se.

Katara made it to the market and got some fruit. The Earth Kingdom had good produce. She would give it that. She wandered around for a while before getting abck home. When she got there, she had a letter from Aang.

* * *

Dear Katara,

The trade dispute is taking longer than I had thought. I won't be back until mid next week the earliest and maybe not until the end of next week.

Sorry to leave you alone, but the job of the avatar never stops.

Love,

Aang

* * *

Katara wondered what the world did when the avatar was a baby? Surely they handled their own problems then. Can't they figure out something themselves for once?

Why was she complaining? This did give her some time to avoid bad sex.

Instead of flying to Aang in Republic City, she flew to the Fire Nation. She would rather visit her brother.

Zuko was frustrated. Despite Azula's ability to make allies with jerks and scumbags, she could not manage to get through one meal with Zuko's friends. Sokka made some flippant remark about her desire to Zuko didn't even remember what it was that Azula had wanted, but Sokka said something rude about it and Azula responded by vaporizing his shirt, literally turning it into ashes at lunch.

He screamed bloody murder, and Azula only told him that it was a cheap shirt anyway, and she did fashion everywhere a favor. "I don't know why Suki would date someone with such horrible tastes; then again, she does dress like a geisha and think it's a warrior outfit."

That's all she needed to say for the gates of all things awful to open up. Zuko couldn't get the guards in the room fast enough as Suki had to be dragged away from Azula.

"Why can't you try to get along with them?" he asked his sister.

"Because I'm a princess and they are mere peasants. It's like asking a queen bee to talk to a worker bee. If she's left with one, she'll just eat it."

"What can I do to get you to try to get along with them?"

"Give them personality transplants?"

"How about 50 coins if you are nice to my friends for one week?"

"You got it."

Later that day, however, Katara came to the palace.

Azula saw her before she could see Zuko and said, "Nice dress." She had been trying to be nice, but it was an old dress that Katara planned on throwing away once she could afford a new one.

"You would say that! Not everyone can afford silk clothes."

"What's wrong with you? I was only trying to …"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?"

Before they knew it, the girls were in a full-blown fight, fire vs. water in the foyer.

The warriors heard the noise and came to see Azula on top of Katara threatening to punch her. "Listen here, you good for nothing peasant. I ought to have you arrested for coming to the palace uninvited just to attack me for no reason."

Zuko had enough. "AZULA! KATARA! Both of you in my office NOW!"

They kept fighting along the way.

"One at a time!" If they were going to act like babies, then Zuko would treat them like babies.

Katara would never admit it, but fighting Azula was fun. She could never tell Aang all of the reasons she was frustrated with their relationship, but she could throw a water whip at Azula just like that. Something about the girl, maybe it was her smirk, made it so easy to hate her.


	7. Author's Note

Author's Note: The first chapter to A Small Light in the Dark was posted yesterday. It's rated M, but the M stuff wasn't happened yet. I thought about posting it as T until I needed to change it, but then I thought people might just get confused when they can't find the story anymore, so I'm starting it at M.

I think it's going to be a 30 chapter story. I have the first 26 chapters done. Hope you enjoy.


End file.
